“Minimally invasive robotic-assisted” surgeries entered the limelight of the medical field in the mid-2000s, when they were first used in the fields of gynecology and urology as innovations driven by the desire of patients to have new, minimally invasive procedures [2]. Although it has been a steadily growing field for the past few years, the…
Even before birth, the human mind is teeming with activity. A single touch, taste or sound can set off a chain reaction in the brain, exciting hundreds of thousands of neurons. These neurons make up networks that are responsible for everything from reaching for a glass of water to picturing a still lake. Filled with…
As America continues its battle against the coronavirus, it would be all too easy to assert that its effects have been arbitrarily felt by everyone. While there is no evidence of underlying genetic factors that predispose individuals to be affected by COVID-19, there is plenty of evidence showing how a community’s environment can create health…
What makes someone attractive? Is beauty truly in the eye of the beholder? In the ChatLab, part of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Neuroaesthetics, researchers explore these questions in the field of neuroaesthetics. Neuroaesthetics is “a subdiscipline of cognitive neuroscience concerned with the neural basis of aesthetic experiences, which involve interactions with entities and…